Pontos - Compact Winch

Bigger sails used to mean you needed bigger winches—not anymore, thanks to the Compact Winch from Pontos. This little winch combines the best of the other Pontos winches—power and speed. First gear on the Compact hauls in line twice as fast as a conventional two-speed winch; simply reverse direction on the winch handle to drop into second gear, where you will feel the hauling power of a 45 winch.

The Compact is the latest innovation from Pontos. A small 2 speed winch, it uses same technology as Pontos’ 4 speed winches.

About the size of a Size 28 winch, its clever design delivers the strength and power of a Size 45. The two gear ratios are selected to also cleverly combine high line retrieval rate in first gear with exceptional winching power in second, making it ideal for use on smaller yachts or as halliard winches.

The Compact packs a lots of advantages :

Light weight (just under 8 lbs)

Small footprint (base just over 5 inches, equal to a 28)

A working load of 1,870 lbs. that matches that of the others’ 40 winches

The hauling power of a 45, increasing your sailing performance and comfort

Hauls line faster than a 40 winch, has the same maximum working load as a 40 winch

Uses the same line dimensions of 40 winch, so retrofitting is easy

Corrosion-proof components

PERFORMANCE: COMPACT WINCH

Max. Working Load

Gear 1

Gear 2

850kg

Gear Ratio Power RatioLine Recovery per rotation

1:1 6.05:126.4cm

7.44:1 45:13.5cm

DIMENSIONS: COMPACT WINCH

Weight

MWL

Base Ø (A)

Height (B)

Line Entry (C)

Line Size Min Ø

Line Size Max Ø

Drum Ø (E)

3.6kg

850kg

130mm

143mm

58mm

8mm

12mm

84mm

WHICH TYPE?

There are three distinct Pontos winches:

The Trimmer, provides low-down power, the Grinder offers fast line retrieval, enabling slick sail handling, and the Compact offers both fast line retrieval and low-down winching power, in a very small footprint.

It would be easy to think of the Pontos range as “Trimmer = Cruising” “Grinder =Racing” and “Compact= Smaller boats”. This is not always the case; there are many cruising boats where the crew have no difficulties in handling the sails, but they would benefit greatly from the additional speed and safety of the Grinder. Similarly, there are many racing boats where greater efficiency would come from much greater winching power of the Trimmer.

To decide on which Pontos winch is right for you, it is important to first identify the problem on your boat that you wish to solve: will this be answered by more speed, or more power?

Pontos have produced a comparison chart which we have reproduced below which compares the capabilities of the range of Pontos winches

COMPACT 2 SPEED WINCH

Gear 1 Ultra Fast

Gear 2 Ultra Power

COMPACT 2 Speed Winch

Power RatioLine recovery per rotation

6.05:126.4cm

45:13.5cm

4 SPEED TRIMMER & GRINDER WINCHES

Size 40

Ultra-fast 1

Ultra Fast 2

Std Gear 1

Std Gear 2

Ultra-Power

Pump Gear

GRINDER 4 Speed Winch

Power RatioLine recovery per rotation

2.3:1 70cm

8:1 20cm

11.6:1 14cm

40:1 4cm

-

-

TRIMMER 4 Speed Winch

Power RatioLine recovery per rotation

-

-

11.6:1 14cm

40:1 4cm

112.9:1 1.4cm

32.7:1 5cm

Size 46

GRINDER4 Speed Winch

Power RatioLine recovery per rotation

2.3:1 68cm

9.3:1 17cm

11.7:1 14cm

46.6:1 3.5cm

-

-

TRIMMER4 Speed Winch

Power RatioLine recovery per rotation

-

-

11.7:1 14cm

46.6:1 3.5cm

131.3:1 1.2cm

33:1 5cm

Size 52

GRINDER4 Speed Winch

Power RatioLine recovery per rotation

2.3:1 69cm

10.6:1 15cm

11.6:1 14cm

52.8:1 3cm

-

-

TRIMMER4 Speed Winch

Power RatioLine recovery per rotation

-

-

11.6:1 14cm

52.8:1 3cm

148.7:1 1.1cm

32.7:1 5cm

WHICH SIZE?

The best sized winch for any yacht will depend on a number of factors: the type of boat; the type of sailing you do; and the expected loads on the boat’s gear. Pontos have produced a guide to help match winches to boat size. The below table is a guide only, you should seek advice for your specific boat.

The mechanical advantage of a winch is calculated as a power ratio which compares the effort applied to the winch handle to the force that the winch exerts on the rope, in its lowest gear. With a Size 40 winch, a 10kg force applied to the handle will typically result in a 400kg pull on the rope.

Power ratios have been used for some time to describe the size of winches, e.g. Size 28, Size 45, Size 52 etc., with physically larger winches generally having higher power ratios. However Pontos winches have now upset this convention, as the Pontos range packs far more pulling power than other winches of a similar physical size.

With a Trimmer 40, the first two gears you use will be very similar to a conventional Size 40, but the Trimmer’s two additional gear ratios are much lower. A Trimmer 40, in its lowest gear, has an incredible power ratio of 112.9, giving a huge mechanical advantage for the size of the winch.

With a Pontos Grinder 40, the lowest power ratio is more similar to conventional Size 40 winches from other manufacturers. The Grinder’s advantage lies in the additional two gears which aid fast line retrieval.

The Pontos Compact, typically the same physical size as a conventional Size 28, provides the same pulling power as a conventional Size 45 in its lower gear ratio! The Compact is ideally suited to smaller boats, but could well be the solution when there is not enough room to fit a Grinder or Trimmer on some larger boats. Close attention should be paid to the likely working loads involved and professional advice sought about installation.